Faith al-Khatib, for 18 years the Flagler County engineer and public works director repeatedly praised for securing millions in state and federal dollars for county projects, is suing the county for wrongful termination and retaliation, citing favoritism, illegal acts she refused to perform for the administration, and racism. Al-Khatib is of Palestinian extraction.
It is the second lawsuit filed against the county by a former employee alleging discrimination in the past year. In May 2023, Sonya Graves, a Black-Hispanic woman hired in March 2022 as the housing and human services manager, sued on two counts of discrimination. She was “constructively discharged,” as her lawsuit describes it, barely two months after she was hired. Tallahassee attorney Marie Mattox, who specializes in labor law, is representing both women.
Al-Khatib’s lawsuit follows a discrimination and retaliation complaints she filed with the Florida Commission on Human Relations and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last September.
Al-Khatib had been prominently leading the administration’s efforts toward a beach-management plan, frequently appearing before county commissioners to discuss the initiative, along with road, bridge and other infrastructure projects. In 2017 she was named president of a state association of engineers, coinciding with the years when she pulled off two dune-rebuilding efforts and the expected match for a massive federal beach-renourishment project, all without more than a fraction of local dollars. She was an especially able navigator of state and federal funding bureaucracies, a skill the county repeatedly applauded her for.
One of her signature recent achievements was the pedestrian bridge over State Road 100, which one commissioner referred to at its February opening as “the Faith Bridge.”
Al-Khatib wasn’t at the opening. She had disappeared toward the second half of last year. For a time the administration said she was on a leave of absence. The lawsuit claims she was fired, because even though she was denied a further extension of her medical leave, she was not warned of the consequences if she did not return.
A December 5 letter to al-Khatib from Deputy County Administrator Jorge Salinas accuses her of going seven consecutive days without reporting to work or contacting the administration, after receiving leave in one form or another since Aug. 22, 2023. “Effective immediately, the county considers you to have resigned,” Salinas wrote her.
The lawsuit describes in bleak terms the county administration of recent years, straddling the tenures of Administrators Jerry Cameron, who left in 2021, and Heidi Petito, who took over since. Through her lawyer, al-Khatib charges Cameron (whose infatuation with backrooms was no secret), Petito, Deputy Administrator Jorge Salinas and Human Resources Director Pam Wu of discriminatory double standards, of deception, and of intentionally sidelining and undermining her while ignoring her whistleblowing on several occasions, including regarding orders from the administration to carry out acts she considered illegal, such as illegal sand dumping on a beach.
The lawsuit claims the senior executive team treated her with “disparate treatment and retaliation,” while a colleague with a criminal record was afforded better treatment. Al-Khatib charges that she was stripped of her public works director title when she refused to appoint the colleague “with a criminal record” to a management position.
She had by then hired Hamid Tabassian as her deputy. She accused him of sexual harassment on three occasions with no action by the county’s human resources director despite four complaints between May and August 2023. Yet Tabassian “falsely accused [al-Khatib] of misconduct,” leading the administration to launch the investigation that eventually caused her to take leave.
Before that point, the lawsuit states, “Salinas and Petito met with [Tabassian] about engineering projects [al-Khatib] was responsible, legally liable, and accountable for. Notably, Tabassian was [al-Khatib]’s direct report.”
“Plaintiff was a loyal, dedicated, and industrious employee and was the recipient of several awards,” the lawsuit states, but was fired after nearly two decades of service.
The administrators Al-Khatib has worked with have never questioned her work ethic, her intelligence and her ability to get things done. But early on there were signs of the difficulties she would continue to face in some of her more routine relations with colleagues, perhaps a reflection of a Levantine disposition that did not always translate as intended in Flagler.
Jim Jarrell, the county administrator in 2006, noted in an otherwise strong evaluation that “while an exceptionally intelligent individual who is highly knowledgeable in her primary area of expertise, engineering and program management, the one major shortfall that Faith exhibits is her interpersonal skills.”
Al-Khatib, he wrote, “all too often displays an overtly aggressive and confrontational nature when she is not in full agreement with someone over an issue. Likewise, while she can be quick to show her temper in response to issues, she often reacts in a negative and emotional manner to those who are out off by her confrontational demeanor and, who in turn, end up responding in a negative fashion.” Jarrell recommended she strive to be a “team player” and learn to compromise.
Then-Administrator Craig Coffey, while commending al-Khatib’s abilities and efficiency and finding her to exceed expectations, also cautioned in a 2008 evaluation: “Faith must concentrate on being flexible and having to work with the faults and opinions of others without being condescending or completely disregarding the ideas of others out of hand. Faith is a great credit to her profession,” he continued, with additional accolades. Al-Khatib herself had handwritten on that evaluation that she would “strive to adapt my managerial style and team participation throughout the changes in the management’s administration.” (Coffey was completing his first year as administrator at the time.)
Notably, while FlaglerLive requested al-Khatib’s complete employee file, only those few evaluations were included. No evaluations beyond 2008 were provided, until a 2021 one-page memo by Cameron that apparently served as her evaluation. Either the county did not provide the rest or no evaluations were conducted for those many years. Neither possibility is to the county administration’s credit: one possibility would suggest that the county is suppressing documents. The other suggests that the county administration did not take evaluations seriously, or that supervision was wanting. Even the Cameron memo pointed to a slapdash, subjective approach to evaluations that discarded formal, standard methods for the ease of a quick, three-paragraph summary that just happened to be timed with the building of a case against al-Khatib.
The evaluations that were included paint a limited portrait, leaving no possibility of evaluating al-Khatib’s evolution over the years, though clearly she worked well with Coffey. He rewarded her with a major promotion in pay grade and pay to prevent her from taking a job in Volusia County, with the County Commission ratifying the decision.
The next batch of documents relating to her workplace conduct start with the Cameron “evaluation” of the same year and a 2021 reprimand memo by Salinas, accusing her of violating the chain of command when she sent a consultant’s pavement management report to commissioners before it had been shared with the administration.
Cameron, who was weeks from one of his perennial retirements, recognized al-Khatib’s skill “in bringing millions of dollars to the county in State and Federal Funding” and keeping her projects at or under budget. But he went on to criticize her, albeit more gently than Coffey and certainly Jarrell had, suggesting “improved communications and relationships with other directors and senior staff members.” Cameron wrote that if she were able to do that, “she should have a very successful ending to her career.”
Al-Khatib fired back at Cameron, as if she saw other motives at work: “There is one thing that the Engineering Department does more than most others, we work with state and federal agencies due to our assigned grants and the projects. We have been very successful because we are precise, collaborative, dependable and accountable. I know all the departments strive in the same way in their own work assignments,” she wrote him. “Yes, I do raise hard questions and challenge some proposals and some may think that is negative. It is meant to be a part of the process of acting in the best interest of Flagler County residents, for both short and long term goals to be met. This is entirely consistent with what you have taught about long term thinking and solving problems.”
To al-Khatib, the Salinas and Cameron memos were part of a continuing effort to isolate her from the senior leadership team and from meetings involving her own projects.
There’s another document gap between Cameron’s departure in 2021 and a key development in 2023: an investigation by Wu, the human resources director, into allegations that al-Khatib was “creating a hostile work environment in the Engineering Department” and “bullying employees.”
The investigation was launched almost contemporaneously with al-Khatib reporting an issue to Salinas under the Whistle Blower Act, after Salinas had asked her to approve the disposal of sand in the Bay Drive Parking Lot, which al-Khatib refused to do before legal steps were met first. Weeks later Salinas confronted al-Khatib with a fellow-employee’s allegations of bullying.
During a May 19, 2023 meeting, according to the lawsuit, “Salinas brought up the sand issue again and said he was planning on dumping it on the beach illegally. [al-Khatib] again reported to Salinas and Wu that the plans to dispose of the sand were in contravention of state and federal laws and local rules and regulations. Salinas instructed [al-Khatib] to approve giving the sand away knowing it was illegal and stated it would cost ‘a lot of money, consume employees’ time and the public is concerned about the sand being there.’”
Salinas then directed another employee to dump the sand, circumventing al-Khatib’s resistance, according to the lawsuit: al-Khatib “later found that Salinas had informed [Coastal Engineer Ansley] Wren-Key to illegally dispose of the sand in contravention to [al-Khatib’s] advice not to do so and reported the matter to [the county attorney’s office]. Salinas did not disclose to Wren-Key the illegality of disposing of the sand, instead he requested that she get rid of the sand to save county resources and satisfy the public which was complaining about the sand sitting in the parking lot.”
Salinas and Petito objected to al-Khatib roping in the county attorney’s office, which administrations going back to Craig Coffey’s day have known not to rope in if the administration wanted to steer clear of legal hurdles–in other words, if the administration wanted something done whether it was legal or not.
At the same meeting, Salinas confronted al-Khatib with allegations of bullying from a fellow-employee. Those allegations were from the complaint by Tabassian, the deputy county engineer al-Khatib had hired, which kicked off the internal investigation. Al-Khatib herself had previously “raised legitimate issues with Tabassian’s insubordination, harassment and anger issues,” according to the lawsuit, but nothing was done. Al-Khatib claims it was part of the administration’s plan to push her out.
Seven department employees were interviewed in Wu’s internal investigation of Tabassian’s complaint, with Salinas conducting some of the interviews, including that of al-Khatib. All spoke of loud voices, frustrations, aggression, al-Khatib’s propensity for interruptions and silent treatments, but the main problem was between Tabassian and al-Khatib, with Tabassian seeing her as a “my way or the highway” sort of person.
At the May 19 meeting, al-Khatib herself “also reported that the culture of the county government was creating isolation, harassment, racism, toxicity, hostile work environment, and other problems for departments, employees,” the lawsuit states. During Ramadan last year, Sainas had insisted that al-Khatib attend a late-night county meeting despite knowing that she was fasting, and that she could only break her fast after sundown. No investigation followed over any of those issues.
The lawsuit also described an instance when the administrator and her deputy asked al-Khatib to lie to commissioners.
Wu–who months earlier had sent al-Khatib an obsequious letter congratulating her on her 15 years of service: “we are delighted to honor your dedication and loyalty to Flagler County,” etc.–concluded in her investigation of the Tabassian complaint that that al-Khatib was creating a “toxic work environment,” and if some employees did not see it that way, they still considered the environment “unhealthy.”
The documents provided by the county show no reprimand or resulting work plan, no suggestion of probationary status or other forms of discipline. The conclusion of the investigation alludes to subsequent meetings where training on bullying and office dynamics was to take place, indicating a willingness to work with al-Khatib.
Several of al-Khatib’s claims point to a toxic and legally questionable work environment that inculpates many more people than al-Khatib and for graver behavior than she was accused of. For all those serious issues, courts don’t generally look kindly on former employees who build a retaliation case on the rather shaky claim that they didn’t know their employment would be terminated if they didn’t show up for work, or make a call to find out what would happen if they did not–as appears to have been the case with al-Khatib.
Whatever had been the environment Wu had described in her investigation and al-Khatib had described at the May 19 meeting, it appears to have taken a severe toll. It isn’t clear why al-Khatib went on medical leave, only that she did so on Aug. 22, 2023, weeks after the conclusion of the investigation. She never returned.
At the time, she was earning $185,286 a year, having gotten a 5.3 percent cost-of-living increase in October. (Her starting salary as the county engineer in 2005 was $81,700.) The lawsuit claims Cameron demoted her pay grade. There was a change in pay grade, though the county did not call it a demotion, but a change following a salary study that had recommended reclassifying various jobs. Her salary was increased by over $2,000 as a result.
Al-Khatib’s attorney filed the lawsuit on May 23. The county has not yet answered the lawsuit in court. County Attorney Al Hadeed deferred questions to the attorney handling the matter for the county, Susan Erdelyi of Marks Gray in Jacksonville, the law firm handling the case through the county’s insurer. Erdelyi did not immediately respond to a call before the article initially published.
Mary Jane says
The Good Old Boys Club, welcome to the Cult GOP Party.
JimboXYZ says
She had to have known that when they denied her additional leave time, that not reporting for work beyond the leave was tantamount to a resignation. Someone has to advise a degreed professional that ? And they did a week after she failed to report to work.
Strange, “illegal sand dumping” for dune replenishment & beach rebuild project(s). The whole point of those types of projects is to dump sand on the dunes & beaches.
I don’t doubt the work environment isn’t toxic, that there are disagreements. She was making closer to $ 185K/year in her position, I think that’s probably what we’re seeing here, an 18 year employee being phased out of the workforce. I mean, they did try to restructure her income based upon market analysis. Typical executive management move(s). See how that plays out in a courtroom for a trial, who knows, maybe there’s a settlement yet to be arrived at ?
Jim says
That’s what you got out of this article? From what I’ve read, the County seems to be woefully lax in documentation of activities. They better come up with her evaluations for all those missing years. And if her periodic evaluations consisted of “several paragraphs” instead of a formal evaluation consistently every year, it clearly shows a strong lack of adherence to their internal rules. And you didn’t pick up the fact that all her troubles began (after 18 years) because of her strong objections to the “illegal sand dumping”? Suddenly, she’s on the spot over one of her employees who accuses her of harassment, etc., after Al-Khatib had reported that employee to HR multiple times with no actions taken? Are you kidding? This is typical of bad management when they decide they are going to run an employee off.
As for whether she knew her leave was denied, where did you get that from? I didn’t read anything about what kind of notifications (if any) were provided. Based on what appears to be a very loose and lax documentation system how can you presume she actually got any notification?
As for the “illegal sand dumping”, I’m not qualified to say what that might be and I seriously doubt you do either. What I do know is that the government has tons of regulations and requirements and the County paid Al-Khatib to know and follow those rules so that the county does not get into legal issues. If her supervisor went around her and had that sand dumped despite her objections, it falls on the supervisor to justify why this was done and why it does not violate the rules/regulations that Al-Khatib was citing as to why it could not be done. I will say that since I don’t know, either one of them may be right but I do know that if I were her supervisor, I’d never do such a thing without extremely strong information supporting such a move. That point seems to completely escape you. And it doesn’t appear she was terminated for insubordination. If her supervisor had explained why it was acceptable to dump that sand and she still refused, he could have brought insubordination charges against her. I didn’t see that either.
We are seeing a very successful 18-year employee being “phased out” of her job. But the ethical and legal justification seems to be nearly completely lacking (at least from what the article says). Unless the County has a lot more documentation than what’s been shared, I think Al-Khatib is likely in for a big payday.
JimboXYZ says
This happens everywhere I’ve ever worked just the same for a career. I’m just over & done with reading about it anymore. The cast of idiots that are employed, even elected one’s just reads like a corrupt Banana Republic in rural Florida/America.
This was where I picked up that part about not reporting to work blurb.
“Al-Khatib wasn’t at the opening. She had disappeared toward the second half of last year. For a time the administration said she was on a leave of absence. The lawsuit claims she was fired, because even though she was denied a further extension of her medical leave, she was not warned of the consequences if she did not return.
A December 5 letter to al-Khatib from Deputy County Administrator Jorge Salinas accuses her of going seven consecutive days without reporting to work or contacting the administration, after receiving leave in one form or another since Aug. 22, 2023. “Effective immediately, the county considers you to have resigned,” Salinas wrote her.”
When employer X denies an extension of leave, that tends to imply that when the original leave & any subsequent leaves that were approved, when that period of time expires is the day one needs to be reporting to work ? Failure to do so is a quit, there seems to be a disconnect over the effectively being fired & actually being fired. Technically, if she was on leave, was being paid, she obviously wasn’t actually fired. But we don’t know those circumstances. She may have been even receiving compensation for the alleged week she didn’t report to work ? And then she still would not have been considered as fired, effectively or otherwise ? As I recall the prior lawsuit for the woman in the school that claimed discrimination, they arrived at an amicable settlement ? Oh, my bad, that was another woman altogether that was suing Flagler County. Trying to keep up with all these screw ups, taxpayers may have to sue the county to run out the lousy employees we seem to never run out of. The one’s that keep awarding themselves accolades, raises & whatever else for this level of day to day productivity like it’s stellar progress ? They all suck at what they do. That Faith Bridge Project ? That even had it’s flaw for reflecting blinding sunlight that it had to be coated with something to make it bearable to drive towards at certain times of the day ?
https://flaglerlive.com/flagler-schools-dove-settlement/
https://flaglerlive.com/civil-rights-lawsuit-flagler-disciplinary/
Backslapping Commission says
I hope al-khatib sues the pants off all of them and wins, they are a racist bunch
of backslapping a**h*les, who are sneaky and toxic, some commissioners treated
Pennington like that when she first took her seat and now we know further
that Salinas does their dirty work and can’t be trusted along with his sidekick
boss Petito, remember this at the polls and don’t vote for Dance he has been
there for 4 years and did nothing for the county but paves the way for developers
and sends out secret letters to officials with no public address or input then circles
back when he gets caught, SHIFTY DANCE whose spouse is assistant to Petito!
The Sour Kraut says
You do know any awards come out of our tax dollars, right? Right now it is “he said / she said”. The truth will eventually come out.
Backslapping Commission says
The Sour Kraut: Yes we do know the price we have to pay for injustices
while having a bunch of nepotistic, self serving a**kissing FCBOCC and
administrators on our watch who are suppose to be looking out for
the safety and welfare of their constituents, some are career politicians
and need to go, have you read the comments below from the little guys
who work their butts off and get no pay raises and go unrecognized!
Such a thankless unfilling toxic situation to be in . Our opinion is that
Wu needs to be fired as well as Petito since they are also the players
who cost us the taxpayers money for their poor decisions and self
entitlement. There are more lawsuits coming down the line where
they are all going to be personally sued, ashame that’s it’s the price we
have to pay for the wrong people who are suppose to be leading and
running our county on their watch.
Fernando Melendez says
Let’s see how the County gets out of this one? Someone with such a background and 18 years being employed by the county it is definitely a bad look for the county especially during an election year.
Jane Gentile Youd says
Fernando
Faith was with FDOT and the county ‘stole’ her from them. Because FDOT and she got on soooo well she secured us millions of dollars we might otherwise never have seen. She saved us money when the county bought land for the Matanzas I-95 exit/entrance. She actually turned in her resignation to Coffey and he pleaded with her to stay. Even Jerry knew how smart she is and was less ‘brutal’ to her than others. Heidi told me back in 2016 she did not like Faith – she said Faith ‘dumped’ the P Bay Water facility ( then owned and run by the county) onto Heidi who was Director of General Services. Faith was never hired to be a water facility manager – she is and was always an engineer!
This jerk ( in my opinion – whom Faith hired when Richard Gordon retired) told me Old Dixie Highway does not exist in Flagler County. And he is now conspired with Heidi and Jorge to take Faith’s job away. Jerry would not have fired her – he isn’t stupid…..
I hope she wins big- I thank her for the hundreds of thousands – millions she got for Flagler County during her 18 years here. The county is making deals with property owners with criminal records, who don’t pay property taxes, who don’t honor Agreements to pay us quarter of a million bucks but they let go one of the most productive hard working employees. I do some volunteer work with my area with FDOT and I know they all adore her.
We lost a great engineer and a great professional who knew where to find the pots of gold we needed and used.
Joe D says
Don’t worry….in addition to probably winning this lawsuit because their HUMAN RESOURCES documentation seems so poor (missing evaluations/no notice of inappropriate work performance/ no “Plan of Correction” for her “improvement”…with a re-evaluation review in 3-6 months). I was a Nursing DIVISION CHIEF…..so I KNOW the HR steps you need to take with an underperforming employee…the County REALLY dropped the ball ( at taxpayer expense), if they want this suit to go away.
PS: my brother is a Master’s level SENIOR Mechanical Engineer, and Faith’s current Salary is actually LOW for an engineer with 18 years experience in ONE government. She’ll have little trouble being snapped up by the PRIVATE sector. Flagler County’s LOSS.
Concerned taxpayer says
Really? That salary is LOW??? Based on what info? She only has 18 years experience
Joe D says
Do a search of Master Civil Engineering salaries on Google, and see what salary ranges you get for 18 years experience. At PENNSTATE University, the Hardest major was pre-Med/the next was ENGINEERING/ the third mont difficult major was NURSING!
Concerned Voter says
I AM an Engineer, with at Phd!!!!
Olive says
Mr. Melendez, since you are currently running as a candidate for the Commission, I am surprised that you and others here have no idea that our commissioners do not run the county, unless of course you believe a former commissioner caught making this statement to a couple of FHP officers during a traffic stop.
County Administration runs the county and with good reason. Personnel issues are their responsibility. There is still time for you to get your hands on a copy of what a commissioner actually does.
Celia Pugliese says
Olive the commissioners elected by us, dictate what the county administrators are to execute and pre approve or denied any plans presented by the administrators. The commissioners hire the manager and the county attorney… that speaks for itself! That is why we elect them to run the county. Lets do not distort facts for newcomers please?
Jane Gentile Youd says
Dear Celia
You are one of the biggest and most devoted citizen advocates I am proud to call a friend but don’t think the commissioner’s run the show. Most of them rubber stamp the huge Consent Agenda of issues Heidi and staff put together without putting issues on the table themselves .
When was the last time a Commissioner proposed an Ordinance? A Resolution? A committee that was actually former? When was the last time a commissioner answered a citizen question during Community Outreach or even on an agenda item.
Silence is NOT golden but it is the mantra of the commission 90% of the time any citizen raises a question unless a commissioner has a personal interest in the issue. None of my pertinent intelligent questions are ever answered ( with one or 2 exceptions over the past 8 years).
Jim Daby, Frank Meeker ( may he rest in peace) and Hutch King always responded when they were on the commission – now its just a come on in – rubber stamp and collect around $75,000 of YOUR and my money,,
Why wasn’t Faith called in front of the county commission in public so we could see the crap they allowed to be done to her? Why was she let go in secrecy? ‘Cause that is how Heidi wants it and the commission lets her have her way.
Look at the crap of hotel Heidi allows to sit and she ( and her side kick Adam) are now dealing with an out of state mob who don’t even pay their taxes while she orchestrated getting rid of Faith who has saved us millions tht Heidi and gang are sqquadering to their pals.
Disgusting
Backslapping Commission says
why in the world would we even vote for FCBOCC candidates if one
person, the county administrator, calls the shots for the county,
running the county has nothing to do with approving and passing
agendas, Olive’s words are twisted and misleading.
Atwp says
Hope she will win. A certain group of men act like they can control other people. I hope women win their suits.
Joe D says
Wow,
-Superintendent (female)of County Schools…experienced and widely supported…gone!
-School Board Attorney (female) EXTREMELY talented and devoted to TRYING to keep the IMPULSIVE and Inexperienced board members from getting the County (us taxpayers) SUED…fired!
-Palm Coast Administrator (female) told REPEATEDLY that she was doing an excellent job…fired!
-Now a HIGHLY qualified, and competent County Engineer, who was Vital in developing and assisting in getting the approvals and funding for the Beach Restoration…terminated!
***anyone seeing a PATTERN here?***
Highly competent, highly educated women, not surviving well in the “Good ole Boy” world of local politics.
Funny how the word AGGRESSIVE keeps popping up in the negative statements evaluating their performance ( if they were a MAN, they would be considered ASSERTIVE).
They are accused of not being a “Team Player” (translated: that means their mostly MALE bosses couldn’t BULLY them into making decisions they did not think were in the best interests of the City/County…or they thought were OUTRIGHT ILLEGAL).
I hope these individuals SUE the City/County that dismissed them for every cent they can…unfortunately the Government officials that forced these EXEMPLARY female leaders out….will be using my (and your) tax dollars to defend their likely discriminatory behavior in COURT….what a WISE use of my money.
In the PAST , such female employees, would just go SILENTLY away, lest the BULLIES that forced them out, disparage their reputations and careers…EXACTLY what they are trying to do NOW!
Unlike the PAST, however, these competent female professionals are fighting back in the COURT SYSTEM…it’s unfortunate if they cannot PERSONALLY sue the individuals responsible, rather than just the City or County.
Unfortunately there are probably LIABILITY SHIELD laws which prevent these government officials from paying for their actions with their own money!
The area keeps lamenting that they can’t find good staff for government openings…but when you see the REPEATED mistreatment of (especially) FEMALE quality employees…you shouldn’t be surprised they are looking elsewhere!
Wow says
Joe D: you said it best.
“Funny how the word AGGRESSIVE keeps popping up in the negative statements evaluating their performance ( if they were a MAN, they would be considered ASSERTIVE).”
Laura says
THIS! Absolutely the pattern is (sadly) evident .
endangered species says
but isnt that what you expected with republicons dictating the path forward?
Frank says
This is nothing to do with Republicans Democrats do the same thing
Wallingford says
Notice how every evaluation praising her for her knowledge, intelligence, and actions to protect the assets of the County contains some sort of a demeaning remark. Congratulations on securing Millions of dollars of funding but you need to play better with others.
The defense of the County in the lawsuit will be that the glowing evaluations were so She could get raises but the real story is in the secret files kept in somebody’s CYA folder. Unfortunately, you can never get the CYA memos out fast enough.
Vote of the Commissioners who are the racist, discriminating ones and replace them with Candidates who promise fairness and equality
Mothersworry says
With all the history of competent women being terminated for whatever bs reason should give those that vote for those elected officials a wake up call. I’m sure they will protest that they didn’t do the terminations. If not them, it was one of their bum kissers. Vote them the hell out.
Concerned Employee says
To every single commissioner currently on the Board, and for those that will be incoming soon, talk to the hard working employees of the County to find out exactly what’s going on, you’ll be shocked! If you care about the future of this organization it’s imperative that you hear from the workforce. Then and only then will you understand the true “culture” at the county. The forgotten employees that show up every day and bust their asses for an organization that could give two shits about them. As for the HR Director, ask the employees if they trust her, we have nowhere to go because she is in the pocket of the county administrator. She only cares about her paycheck and the power she has to get rid of anybody she doesn’t like. Who’s gonna investigate her? She’s the first one that needs to go and then maybe you’ll start to see the change that is so desperately needed.
Jane Gentile Youd says
WOW to Concerned Employee. Toxic seems to be the requirement now to be an ‘acceptable employee.
BTW Faith spent hours 10 years ago trying to get FDOT funds to beautify US 1 near Plantation Bay but Coffey actually destroyed the deal- we met with her and Richard Gorden at least twice and she had landscaping plans that Michael Weremay had submitted and she would have been our go -between with the FDOT funding necessary. She knew each and every ‘rule and requirement’ FDOT required for grants. She was the BEST
CONCERNED says
You should talk to the other employees that have been there over 20 years and were fired to be replaced with Pam’s pets in management.
Mel’s got the Bells says
The majority of county employees hired post Jerry Cameron are friends of Petito or friends of their friends. It’s one BFF click.
Just do a public records request on key employees hires under Heidi Petito’s tenure and check qualifications, experience, relationships and positions attained. Then check how many experienced, qualified and professional Directors, Managers and valuable employees were chased out the door.
It’s just one shit show after another
Mondex Mama says
Are you referring to her “bestie” Holly Albanese ?
Tim says
She sucked at her job and every project she did has problems , but if what is in the article is 1/2 true she didn’t deserve to be shown the door like that. Everyone deserves respect.
palmcoaster says
A real shameful county miss management of a professional employee. I agree with with Joe D above. They cheat and lie to achieve their controversial goals while using our pockets when sued. Several lawsuits lately against the county very costly to us the taxpayers so that show us that no incumbent should be elected, specially while lying about his wide support of the FIN Executive airport nuisance pilots schools activities that drop 719 lbs. of lead a year over us all. Meanwhile lying in the local radio “Free for All” that the airport generates a lot of revenue for the county a lie clearly shown a loss in the only available public records Airport Annual Report 2022:This am in the local WYMZ station in “Free For All” candidate incumbent for county commission Andy Dance lied that he supports and will continue support of the airport (flight schools) lead contaminating activity “as brings revenue to us in the county”. BS. Just look at the public records of airport end of year 2022 only one available in red: file:///C:/Users/intam/Downloads/New%20Finanical%20System%20Detail%20FY%2022%20(8).pdf
This is why we need Fernando Melendez in the county commission.
Just a thought says
The county will settle this. They do not want Faith speaking publicly about her time in the inner circle.
Celia Pugliese says
At what cost, as even if the insurance lawyers used then they will increase the insurance premium in the county! They need to stop this politicizing the county administration and do things right by the book and stop being sued so we all pay the bills. This waste is the real reason why this county keeps on raising our taxes and want more like county wide tax now for the beach repairs. Cut the fat and stop the witch hunts and will be plenty $$ for all our services first including beach proper maintenance after hurricanes without the need for more taxing us.
John Stove says
TO ALL COUNTY EMPLOYESS
As a former Senior Regional Supervisor for a State Agency, my advice is to document, document, document all of your verbal and written interactions of significance with HR and your supervisors. If a conversation is had, follow up with an email with a …”just to capture our conversation yesterday”…type of statement.
More than once when I have had to take action against employees, I was able to pull out my file with hand written notes, emails etc and was able to show the issue as to why the action is being taken.
Same thing when you want to complain or seek redress from the HR manager, Supervisor, Director or Commissioner.
Yes, it is apain in the a** to have to do this but if you really want to make a change in how you are being treated or denied advancement then you have to document these issues.
On the other side, LACK of documentation means that you have no way of showing that you gave an employee any warning of bad behavior or performance issues and also that you did not give them a chance to correct their issues within a given time frame…this is just piss poor employee management.
I dont know what is in the water around here but jeeezzzz between Flagler Beach, the County, Palm Coast and the School Board….worse bunch of uneducated unprofessional people I have ever dealt with.
Joe D says
Reply to John Stove:
As a former Nursing Division Chief, I had to spend an incredible amount of time documenting employee interactions of an HR nature…we were even required to make a notation that an INFORMAL VERBAL counseling had been done (yes). That was due to the fact when the employee got to the next stage requiring a WRITTEN COUNSELING, they could deny they had first had the VERBAL counseling (I’m not kidding).
If you didn’t follow those guidelines, and the employee challenged the discipline, your case was “dead in the Water.” In my 8 years of upper Nursing management, I only lost my first employee appeal, and my last employee appeal…and won my other appeals for the organization, because I had documented all the progressive counseling steps.
Clearly many people in local government, aren’t aware of these Human Resources requirements, and just want to terminate people outright, without the back up documentation to support it. Making what really seems like LAME EXCUSES.
Many of the recent terminations done locally appear to be done in an unprofessional manner…and are likely to BACKFIRE! $$$
JW says
This is an example of how Americans, mostly republicans, treat their underlings (see above). Happens in government and business. Sadly, it has become part of the American culture due to an increasing lack of education. Please your boss and form over substance, exerted by WASP’s. Just open your eyes before you vote in November!
Beach cat says
How can this county allow Faith Al-Khatib to slip through their dirty fingers? Perhaps she is too brilliant for the likes of them. Having given 18 years of superb decision making, supporting the county by bringing in untold resources, all the while dealing with petty childish behavior by others in leadership positions, Faith is being persecuted. I wish her well in the coming days.
Wondering why? says
Ask someone to explain how the HR director (Wu) can give Samantha Whitfield a promotion to HR Manager and a $25,000 raise when the rest of the employees can barely get a dollar raise and have been here for years. This is a person who has charges hanging over her head for stalking and installing a tracking device in her ex husbands car. Read the report she is dishonest with the cops investigating her, it is stated in the report. There is a great leader to put in that position Wu. Someone who is dishonest with the police definitely should not be in the HR Manager job for the county.
Don miller says
Such a long article fir one person is strange. She sounds like a self admitted my way or highway person but she didn’t think she’d be the one on the highway. Missed the memo that no one is that important. The Palestinian card was timely and suspicious
Backslapping Commission says
That was her holiday! You really need to take a deep look into yourself
Mr., such a racist remark!
Sherry says
@ Backslapping. . . right on
JimboXYZ says
This has every indication of what ugly lawsuits are. We’ll hear race, religion cards being played, sexual harassment charges, blah, blah,blah. In every case, there are the glowing reviews for performance evaluations for expected results. And then there are the HS-like cliques internal where co-workers at all levels of management & staff just really don’t get along with each other. It’s a staff of individuals that work with each other, they aren’t supposed to like/love each other, just get results for being a team. And of course the one getting sacked is always a difficult challenge to work with, according to some.
Getting grants, blah, blah, blah, that’s all part of the job description. Look at the underfunded projects, the messes that still exist for problems that will exist for decades, like beach rebuilding & dune renourishment, even the water treatment expansion(s). The most relatively perfect of projects as executed are flawed to expectations that nothing lasts forever on planet Earth. 18 years at one employer, that’s an overdue run for being in any position, regardless of a corporation or government. Exactly, no one is that important that at a certain point they see a salary or promotion & want to eliminate it before the next qualified pension payouts. Just one example, take our current POTUS, Biden is 50+ years in Government for self serving. The system keeps rewarding the DC Swamp types, Flagler County has it’s FL Swamp monsters just the same. So here we have yet another DEI&B failure. Who would’ve ever imagined that ? I don’t think there has ever been an employee that wasn’t a victim of cost cutting or whatever this truly is. Bidenomics of inflation certainly isn’t making things easier in this time of days late & dollars short of real solutions for what was already in place & growing, growth that won’t ever pay for itself as the politicians & government spin their next Vision of 2050 project ?
Tired of it says
The good old Republican boys don’t like it when women don’t bend to their will and do as they are told. That is why they are Republicans.
Chuck says
LOL…..Don’t let us remind you of all the Democrats unlawful BS!!
Some dumb a** always has to blame the republicans or Trump.
Deborah Coffey says
Dare you to make a list with actual data involved. I’ll wait…. Would you like a list of Trump’s Republicans who are indicted and/or in prison? It’s pretty huge. Of course, if you’re only watching those right wing shows or websites, you probably don’t know about these liars and cheats.
Tired of the BS says
It’s about time the commissioners grow some balls and let Petito know she works for them, not vice versa.
Petito is a backstabber who uses whoever she can to get what she wants. Once she has that, she throws them aside and makes their life hell. The commissioners cannot have anything to do with the hiring or firing, or they’re not supposed to.
How many times has Petito made decisions without conferring with the commission? It’s not her position to do that, it’s the commissions.
As far as Wu, she needs to go for her unethical practices. Sadly, she and others are costing the taxpayers money for their unethical BS.
Clean house, from the administrator down.
Wondering why? says
How can Faith, or any other employee, go to the HR Director with a sexual harassment claim and Pam Wu not immediately start an investigation? But when an employee is leaving she does an exit interview and if that departing employee makes one disparaging comment about their supervisor she immediately starts an investigation, this is how she is able to fire high ranking, long term employees with the county, she’s been able to get away with this for years. Faith is just the first one that had the balls to stand up to this type of corruption. Look into it, the proof is there all you have to do is ask the right questions.
Joe Flagler says
What job doesn’t fire you after not reporting to work for a week with zero contact? A wellness check was done by FCSO & she was home & safe. She chose to take her ball & go home. I worked with her. She knew her job, she was great at that, but she was PMS’ing 24/7 Try working with someone like that!
Good Riddance. says
Good Riddance! Every time I drive under that Absolute egg on face embarrassment of a bridge. I think of her $185K/Yr salary and shake my head… She was a joke… We deserve much better for that salary.
Another Concerned Employee says
That place is beyond corrupt. I believe 10000% of what Faith is claiming, mostly because I witnessed a lot of it. Also… Pam Wu was never fit for the job. And since her arrival it has been nothing but insane happenings there. Her resume stated stay at home mom…. from granny nannies to making over 6 figures overnight. And now the 2nd in command for HR has a pending criminal investigation… the finance director just got popped for a DUI … what else are they hiding? Who is running this s*#& show? Our tax dollars just flying around the circus. Leann where you at? You seem to care about the bs that is happening. DIG! Ask your longest employees…. the ones who have witnessed the craziness. Andy? Ask your wife!
Backslapping Commission says
LOL once again where’s shifty Dance who does not answer emails or makes
as he never recieves them while other commissioners do, we have to forward
the emails to Lucy his spouse to make sure he gets them, don’t forget Lucy
Dance is Andy’s spouse who is the right hand to Petito who happens to be a lovely
competent worker but this is where there is a direct conflict of interest, Andy cannot
go against Petito who is a player in this circus. Remember this at voting time
folks.
Jane Gentile Youd says
And the county is ‘entertaining’ allowing a possible extended stay where the POS Old Dixie Hotel sits – where nothng othe than a gas station and 2 (nice restaurants exist) – NO facilities; no transportation, no supermarkets, $250,000 OWED TO COUNTY FOR 3 YEARS. Owners have other buidings witn violations in Volusia County, unpaid property taxes, criminal charges pending against one and past charges against another ‘partner’. SHERIFF wants it gone – we 6,000 tax paying residents want it gone but the county has chosen to pay outside attorney $35,000 ( as well as sheriff costs- tax loss for non use) to let it sit and sit and sit. The county set for hearing 2 and half years more than than necessary. I have the tape which Jerry Cameron says -” If you don’t demolish the building or repair it the county will demolish it!!Three years ago and it still stands.
Heidi Petito, Al Hadeed, Adam Memgel etc are SQUANDERING ALL THR MONEY FAITH AL-KATAHID SAVED US!!!! She has her masters in Civil Engineering – Heidii has a high school diploma. Miami-Dade County is paradise compared to the S…hole Flagler County Administration is turning our county into and the commissioners are NOT DOING ANYTHING TO STOP IT!!
Backslapping Commission says
CRIMINALS DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER CRIMINALS!
Been There says
The county’s approach to removing Faith is reminiscent of the bogus games they ran on Matt Dunn and Helga van Eckert. The county rewards loyalty to ambitious back stabbers that want to replace the Directors instead of valuing the hardworking quality employees they have. The place is toxic. Has been since Coffey was let go. There is nobody left there with any integrity.
Faith and Heidi have always butted heads.